Piers Morgan leaves 'Good Morning Britain' after being called out over Meghan Markle coverage

Piers Morgan has left Good Morning Britain after storming off the set of the live show when he was called out by co-star Alex Beresford over his coverage about Meghan Markle. In a statement, ITV said: “Following discussions with ITV, Piers Morgan has decided now is the time to leave Good Morning Britain. ITV has accepted his decision and has nothing further to add.”

Morgan's exit from the show comes after Beresford called him out for constantly saying he doesn’t like the former Suits actress after she ended their former friendship. Weather presenter Beresford made the comments to Morgan while all the hosts were discussing the Oprah Winfrey interview, where Markle revealed she previously had suicidal thoughts, that aired in the U.K. on Monday evening.

“I understand that you don’t like Meghan Markle. You’ve made it so clear a number of times on this program. A number of times. I understand that you got a personal relationship with Meghan Markle or had one and she cut you off,” Beresford said. “She’s entitled to cut you off if she wants to. Has she said anything about you since she cut you off? I don’t think she has, but yet you continue to trash her.”

That was the moment when Morgan announced he was done with the conversation and got up from his seat to leave the set on live television. “OK, I’m done with this. Sorry, no, can’t do this. See you later,” Morgan said as he stormed off set.

Beresford went on to call out Morgan’s “diabolical behaviour.” Beresford said: “I’m sorry, but Piers spouts off on a regular basis, and we all have to sit there and listen. Six-thirty to seven o’clock yesterday was incredibly hard to watch. Incredibly hard to watch… He has the ability to come in here and talk from a position where he doesn’t fully understand.”

During her interview with Oprah, Markle revealed that she “didn’t want to be alive anymore” and had contemplated suicide while pregnant with son Archie. She said that the Royal Family told her she couldn’t get the help she was looking for because “it wouldn’t be good for the institution.”

When Good Morning Britain played the clip on Monday’s show, Morgan said that he didn’t “believe a word” Markle said. “I wouldn’t believe her if she read me the weather report and the fact that she’s fired up this onslaught against our Royal Family I think is contemptible,” Morgan said.  

Morgan’s comments about Markle’s mental health drew more than 41,000 complaints, according to Ofcom, the company that regulates TV, radio and video on demand sectors in the U.K. Ofcom announced Tuesday that it had launched an investigation into Monday’s Good Morning America, to see if the show broke broadcasting rules on harm and offence.

Mental Health charity Mind, one of the supporters of ITV’s mental health campaign, said it was “disappointed and concerned” by Morgan’s comments. "It's vital that when people reach out for support or share their experiences of ill mental health that they are treated with dignity, respect and empathy," the charity added.

On Tuesday’s show, Morgan said: “I still have serious concerns about the veracity of a lot of what she said, but let me just state for the record about my position on mental illness and on suicide.

“They should be taken extremely seriously, and if someone is feeling that way, they should get the treatment and help that they need every time, and if they belong to an institution like the royal family and they go and seek that help, they should absolutely be given it,” he said.

ITV CEO Carolyn McCall said she fully believed Markle’s claims from the Winfrey interview. Before it was announced the Morgan was leaving the show, McCall said that Kevin Lyngo, managing director of media and entertainment, had spoken with Morgan about his comments. “I know Kevin Lygo is speaking to him on a regular basis and has done so in the last couple of days,” she said.

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McCall also said that Morgan was a freelance presenter and ITV had no control over what he says on his Twitter account. “He’s got personal profile on Twitter, it’s his personal account,” she said. “If it was about our shows, that would be different.”

It was later announced on Tuesday that Morgan had left his role at Good Morning Britain following the backlash from his comments. 

Morgan has been long criticized for his comments about Markle and Prince Harry. In March 2020, Morgan had admitted to The Sunday Times that he made things “too personal” and went “too far” with his criticism of the Sussexes.

In the interview, Morgan was asked if he should have toned down his criticism of Meghan and Harry before they decided to step away from Royal life. “Yeah, probably. I think that’s a perfectly fair criticism,” he said.

“Do I think that will govern and temper how I talk about them going forward? Absolutely,” Morgan added. “It’s probably not wise, if you’re a columnist, to make things too personal.”

Morgan has called Markle “a shameless piece of work” and accused her of splitting “Harry from William,” and said she “has now split him from the Royal Family.”

Last January, however, Morgan said: “People say I’m too critical of Meghan Markle – but she ditched her family, ditched her Dad, ditched most of her old friends, split Harry from William and has now split him from the Royal Family. I rest my case.”

Last April, Morgan had banned conversation about Harry and Markle on Good Morning Britain after they announced there would be no further "corroboration" and "zero engagement" between them and the U.K. tabloids: The Sun, the Daily Mail, The Mirror and Express. 

“Let’s not talk about Meghan and Harry today, I can’t be arsed. Let’s just forget about them,” Morgan said on the show at the time. “They banned a number of newspapers; today we’re banning Meghan and Harry from Good Morning Britain for the foreseeable future. You’re done, toast, it’s over,” Morgan said. It is very clear that Morgan did not stick to that ban. 

Morgan has not publicly commented on his exit from Good Morning Britain as of this writing.

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